The Alicante Academy
by Sunden
Summary: Go back in time with Jocelyn, Luke and Valentine as they begin their school days at the Alicante Academy. Will Luke make it through his first week? When does Valentine become evil, and how could a girl like Jocelyn ever fall in love with him?
1. Chapter 1 - The Academy

"Jocelyn!" Another pound on the door shook the floors. "Hey, come on! We're going to be late!"

Jocelyn bounced back in front of the floor length mirror one more time. As custom she was drabbed in complete black, from the hair tie holding back her wild, red curls, to the buckles on her combat boots. The outfit was familiar to her; she had worn something similar nearly her entire life, every day to school. But today… today was going to be different. Today she _graduated_.

She gave herself one more look over. Yes, she thought, now you look like a Shadowhunter.

"Jocelyn!"

"I'm _coming!_"

She shook her head, Luke, her closest friend since childhood, had to be just as excited as she was. She however, was not going to pass up the chance to make a first impression, especially as there would be new students just like her all starting secondary school, the final stage of a Shadowhunter's education. Jocelyn pounded down the stairs stopping only to grab several apples and her backpack. Her mother was waiting by the front door.

"Good luck," her mother whispered, giving her a quick hug. "Not that you'll need it."

Jocelyn smiled, not bothering to look contrite. Shadowhunting was in her blood.

"Thanks Mom, see you soon."

There was no big goodbye, no hug-fest, and no celebration. They just didn't do that, Jocelyn knew.

"Fairchild!" Luke yelled again from the front door, pounding multiple times in succession. "If you're not out here in five seconds I swear on the Angel…"

"Go," Jocelyn's mother said, "before he does something stupid like swear his life away. And Joeclyn-"

"Yeah?" Jocelyn asked, hand hovering above the doorknob.

"Kill some demon's for me."

Jocelyn grinned, one last time.

"I'm planning on it."

"Finally!" Luke cried as she exited the manor and bounded down the front steps with him. "I thought the sun would have risen before you got done staring at yourself in the mirror."

"You're one to talk, do you even own a mirror?"

Luke smoothed the fringe of his hair down nervously. It was an un-grounded accusation. As far as guys went Jocelyn knew that Luke happened to take a great care in everything he possessed, probably because he had grown up seeing the giant Fairchild manor compared to his family's place. The Graymark's weren't poor but they weren't rolling in money either.

"What do you think it'll be like?" Luke asked, as they joined up with the main dirt road. It was a three hour walk to Alicante and they were supposed to be there for sunrise. Jocelyn knew Luke was referring to the ShadowHunter's school – a sort of elite academy. She shrugged.

"I don't care so long as it's nothing like regular school."

Up until that point, Jocelyn, Luke and others of her age had attended the local schools. There was, Jocelyn thought, nothing to be ashamed of with that. The schools were modern, well-organized and had many resources. Still, she thought, they were nothing compared to _the _school. Most all ShadowHunter's graduated to the school around the time they turned sixteen, and up until that point, it had all been out of the books.

Jocelyn loved to read, but even she had grown bored with the same material in class each days. The history, the strategy, the _theory. _They had teamwork exercises and skill-builders but it wasn't anything that really mattered. Aside from a few decorative pieces, Jocelyn had never held a real weapon. They played war of course, with the wood sticks and the foam amour, they ran battle simulations and discussed all different types of scenarios, but until she walked through those Alicante doors, until she put on the ShadowHunter amour – it was just a game, just kids playing grown-ups.

Well no longer. Now that they were sixteen, they could enroll and begin their legends as true Shadowhunter's – no more games. The Alicante Academy was the place that Shadowhunter's went to learn what is was really like to be face to face with a demon.

And dammit – she wanted to kill some demons.

Jocelyn and Luke continued to speculate on the wonders that the Alicante Academy would hold once they arrived. Luke was convinced that the seniors, who would be nineteen and twenty, would brutally haze the freshmen as soon as they walked in the door. Jocelyn wasn't one to completely argue this point away, though she pitied the poor upperclassmen who picked on her first; her father had been giving her secret hand-to-hand combat lessons since she was six.

Finally, an hour before the sun was due, the glass towers of Alicante came into view. Jocelyn's heart swelled within her chest. They stretched into the sky and disappeared as though the clouds swallowed them whole, as though they stretched on into heaven itself, glittering with the lights of the city that could be seen coming to life as the people began to wake for another day.

"Wow…" Luke said.

And wow was right. There was simply nothing else in the world like it. The glass somehow seemed stronger than a piece a steel, wider than any moat, longer than any wall. In there, she knew, everyone was safe. Struck with sudden confidence, the two finished their walk in silence, each silently preparing him or herself for the coming event – _Registration_.

"Name?" The lady asked. Jocelyn wasn't paying attention. She was still glancing up at the towers of Alicante. "Name?" She repeated, more fiercely.

"Oh – uh – Jocelyn. Jocelyn Fairchild."

The registration lady flipped through her stack of papers until she came upon Jocelyn's information and slipped it out for her.

"A – M are over there," the lady said, pointing. As she rose her arm, Jocelyn saw a dagger that would have been fit for decapitating a bear hanging off her belt. What did she use that for? She wondered. Removing staples?

However Jocelyn had already been reprimanded once and she stepped out of line quickly, waiting a few seconds for Luke to join her. Their last names began with F and G, so they were almost always next to each other alphabetically. That had, in fact, been the reason for their first meeting. In first grade their teacher had seated them alphabetically. Luke had stolen her drawing of a Shadowhunter on the very first day, before she had even finished. Jocelyn took her drawings very seriously, and was highly affronted when Luke refused to give it back. She had gone to complain to the teacher but he wouldn't have any of it.

"He took your drawing?" Mr. Gradus had said. "I'm sorry, but I can't help you. You want it back? – take it."

Jocelyn had taken his words to heart quite literally. The next time she had seen Luke she had decked him in the face, knocking out two of his teeth and causing a huge scene. The other teachers had been furious, demanding why she had punched him, and she just kept repeating 'he took my picture – he took my picture.' The other teacher's face remained blurred in her memory, but not Mr. Gradus. She could always seem him standing to the side, even years later, shaking his head slowly, smiling. Needless to say, they had been the best of friends after that.

The memory caused a smile to resurface.

"What are you so smiley about?" Luke asked. He looked rather green and Jocelyn couldn't blame him. She felt near to throwing up herself.

"Oh, nothing."

The last freshman, a short kid with tangled hair and glasses, called Stock-weather or something, she missed the name, finished registration and finally they were all assembled on the lawn of the Alicante Academy. Three stories high and built of a strange grey-brick the building was intimidating and formidable – just the way she liked it. Jocelyn could tell just by the size of the building that it would take weeks if not months to learn its' passageways. Jocelyn had been so distracted by the building she had missed the beginning of the welcoming speech. She quickly tuned back in –

" – think you're ready? You think you've got what it takes to join the ranks of the most elite community on the surface of this earth or any similar dimension. Think you're prepared. Well my little hatchlings, you are all wrong!"

Luke through Jocelyn a look. The man speaking was clad in Shadowhunter amour, black, head to toe, and covered in the white scars that so defined their kind. Jocelyn had only a few marks of her own, she had gotten her first when she was just twelve years old, and after that only two others – one for luck and one for endurance when she had become desperately sick. It made her proud to think that she had at least one, perhaps even _two_ more marks than her fellow classmates.

"My name is Tiberius Blackthorn and I am here to teach all of _you _the secrets of surviving in the big, nasty world. You may be wondering why I've split you into two groups –"

Jocelyn had indeed wondered that when there were only 42 of them, barely enough to fill a classroom.

" – and the answer to that is so that we can start your very first day off her at the AA with a little game!"

The freshmen broke out in to a wave of whispers. A game? Here!? On their first day? Somehow Jocelyn doubted it was likely to be a name game.

"I want A-M over here and N-Z right here. Hurry, hurry, we don't have all day!"

The students shuffled around to their places.

"We have some upperclassmen here to facilitate the process, you will be lead and instructed by them. I expect to see the winning team back on this lawn in two hours. Dismissed!"

As Jocelyn looked around to face the other students, she was relieved to see that she was not the only one who felt apprehensive. Were they fighting against each other? Were they using real weapons? What happened to the losing team if Blackthorn only wanted to see the_ winning_ team?

In her experience, activities that were led by other students rather than teachers were not only more chaotic but also more dangerous. She couldn't help but feel excitement spreading through her veins along with a grain of fear. Finally, Jocelyn thought, _finally_, it looked like the time had arrived for her to begin her real training.

Watch out demon's, she thought. Here I come.

_** This is just the first chapter of a progression that I would love to continue. If you guy's liked it, please comment or fav! This is my first publish, so I'm still getting the hang of things. :)_


	2. Chapter 2 - Games and Pains

The upperclassmen lead us off the lawn and behind the school where the grass melded into the forest seamlessly. There was nothing Jocelyn was particularly scared off that was in the forest, it was what was they were going to do _inside _the forest that really interested her. Luke was cracking his knuckles beside her; a nervous habit. The upperclassmen split up and one half of the group disappeared into the woods to the east with the N-Z's trailing behind them. Their group continued to walk for another fifteen minutes before the upperclassmen stopped abruptly. Jocelyn could see now that there were four of them, all dressed in Shadowhunter gear with mark's curling up and down any visible skin.

"Get into a circle!" One of the upperclassmen yelled. He had brilliant red hair. "Hurry!"

The upperclassmen walked around intimidatingly. One in particular, was enjoying the looks that some of the freshmen were giving him.

"Listen up!" He called again, from the center of the circle. "In about ten minutes you are going to hear a whistle blow from the south. As soon as that happens you are to run east, and wreak havoc understand?"

It was clear from the muttering that erupted that no, they did not understand.

"Are we fighting the others?" A freshman called out. The red-headed upperclassman who had given us our brief instructions grinned.

"Maybe," he said.

"You're not even going to tell us the rules?" Jocelyn shouted, grinding her teeth. Surely they were allowed to do that much, were they not?

"Well we would," another upperclassman said, "if we thought you pipsqueaks could handle it. And you had better win too, because if not we won't get our leadership marks, and I think we would be quite unpleased…"

The threat hung over the crowd while Jocelyn fumed. This was unbelievable. No doubt the other team was getting a fully educated crash course in whatever the hell this was supposed to be, and they were stuck listening to these losers.

"Jocelyn, no –" Luke tried to pull her back as her stepped forward but she shrugged him off.

"And you think," Jocelyn shouted, "that you really deserve that leadership mark even if we do win?"

The upperclassmen's grins evaporated. Red-head began to stalk forward but another one with pure white hair and more marks then any of the others pulled him back. They began whispering furiously. Jocelyn was ready to punch a wall at that point, but she would never get a chance to take her anger out on the upperclassmen because at that moment, a whistle, pure and clear, sounded throughout the woods. The freshmen looked around themselves in bewilderment.

"Well!" The upperclassmen shouted. "What are you waiting for? GO!"

Jocelyn considered, for a moment, ignoring the order and forfeiting the game but her pride was stronger than her anger and it refused to go down without a fight, even in a game where it didn't know the rules. She follow the others as they charged off into the woods.

"Are you mad Fairchild?" Luke yelled as soon as they were out of earshot of the upperclassmen.

"We at least deserve to know the rules," Jocelyn said.

"It doesn't matter! It's all about the politics, the alliances!"

What was he talking about? This wasn't a game of alliances. "You may have won that battle," Luke continued." But you're a target now! They're going to make you and _you _alone suffer. You better pray to God that we win because if we don't, they're going take their anger out on_ you_."

"They don't deserve to win," Jocelyn said furiously. "They're terrible leaders, they ought to have their marks stripped!"

"It doesn't matter what they deserve." Luke repeated. "They have power, and you have made yourself a target!"

Although there was some truth to what Luke was saying, Jocelyn didn't care. Let them come after me, she decided. I'll kick their asses.

Suddenly there was a scream from somewhere to their right. Before they could do more than look in that direction, two bodies exploded from the bush. Jocelyn scanned them quickly. One was holding a stick, the other was unarmed. Neither were dressed in Shadowhunter gear, and she didn't recognize their faces from earlier, though they could have easily passed her brief inspection of her fellow classmates unnoticed.

"Are you guys N –"

Before Luke could finish his sentence the boy with the stick, who was muscled and had a cut above his eye, hit Luke at the ankles and he went down. They were clearly off the opposite team.

"Hey!" Jocelyn screamed, darting forward.

_"Knee's in… keep your balance. If you can dodge a hit, dodge it."_

Her father's words echoed in my head as she ducked the boy's stick.

_"Fists up… keep them at your face at all…times…"_

He flailed like a fish as Jocelyn pushed him backwards.

_Use their weight against them… put them on the ground before you have at them… everyone's more defenseless on the ground._

_"Even demons?" She had asked._

_"Especially demons."_

Jocelyn kicked the boy in the knee and he went down like a sack of flour. "I cave!" He shouted. She ignored him. Then she twisted his arm behind him, kicked him once – twice – three times in the ribs before the girl, the other Shadowhunter with him, shouted:

"Stop! Stop it, he's out!"

Jocelyn let the boy fall to the ground, gasping. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"The rules! Once you forfeit you have to stop, they're out!"

"Fine," she said, taking a step forward, and the girl immediately put her hands up, calling herself out. Jocelyn looked at her in disgust. "Any other rules I should know about?"

"The game ends when an entire team has forfeited. Once you forfeit you have to walk out to the north and into a clearing by the river to wait."

There was nothing to stop people from forfeiting and continuing to play, Jocelyn thought, and she resolved to watch those she got out walk all the way to the clearing.

"Thanks," she said, pulling Luke to his feet. Then she stalked off into the woods, bringing him with her.

"We had better split up," Luke said, after a few minutes.

"What, why?"

"Cover more ground. We've got to tell our teammates the rules, they've got to be as confused as we were five minutes ago."

Jocelyn couldn't argue with this, so they gave each other a nod, Luke went one way and Jocelyn went the other. The woods were dark, even though the sun was beginning to approach the middle of the sky. Though she could hear the occasional shouts of people around her, she couldn't find any others, not even from her own team.

This game sucks, Jocelyn thought. It was unorganized, nothing was happening, as far as she knew, she could have been the only one left in these woods. She decided to go check out that clearing, in case everyone had already finished. It didn't take a long time to find the creek that the Shadowhunter girl had mentioned. You could hear it from several hundred yards away. Jocelyn stayed on the edge. The students were split into two groups, but both looked the same size, and quite large as well. Luke was among them. Was there anyone left at all?

Suddenly Jocelyn heard footsteps behind her, and she melted into the darkest shadow she could find. Seconds later the subject came into view. Jocelyn didn't recognize him. He was of medium build with fair hair and eyes. He wasn't heading towards the clearing either, he must be one of the remaining enemies.

Jocelyn stepped out of the shadow.

"Hello."

He whirled around. Then he did something she didn't expect; he smiled. Jocelyn tried to keep a neutral face as the thought struck her:

She may have taken on more than she could handle.

"You left?" The boy asked.

"Yes, you?"

"Yes."

We stood a few feet apart, not sure how to begin. Jocelyn searched around, looking for an advantage. Nothing, there was nothing. The boy struck first. Damn, he was quick! And no stranger to hand-to-and combat either. He kicked her ankles and Jocelyn fell, catching herself on the wrists and rolling to avoid the kick she knew was sure to follow. The air of the kick ruffled her shirt and she twisted around kicking him in the ankles as well. They both managed to get back on their feet at the same time. Fist coming – duck – retaliate – had to keep an eye out for other enemies, though she suspected they were the last left.

People were starting to gather from the clearing from the sounds of the fight, including the upperclassmen. This provided exactly the distraction Jocelyn needed. She punched him in the gut and kneed him in the face as he doubled over. Then she had him on the ground, pace pressed to the dirt, arm in hand. Jocelyn could dislocate or break his shoulder in less than a second, but she hesitated.

"Hey!" One of the upperclassmen from our team yelled. "End him, he's the last left!"

But Jocelyn thought about it. She had already won this fight. That much was clear from what they had seen. No one would doubt her words in the future, were she to say that she had beaten this kid. So what did it matter if she won "officially?" It would only benefit the so-called leaders of her team, not the team itself. Jocelyn looked at Luke. He could tell what was she was going to do even before she did it, and he just shook his head tiredly. _Whatever_, he seemed to say. _Have it your way._

"I forfeit!" Jocelyn yelled, stepping away from the kid. There was some silence, and then the area burst into noise. The upperclassmen were yelling. Most of the other team was laughing, especially at the expression of that red-headed upperclassmen. Jocelyn resisted the urge to laugh as well. The leaders of the other team took control of the situation.

"N-Z's, back up to the lawn! A-M's, wait here for Blackthorn!"

As soon as the N-Z's were gone, the wolf pack fell upon her.

"What the hell was that?" Red-head shouted. Jocelyn gave him a coy grin.

"How should I know? I don't know the rules."

Some of the freshmen laughed and it was as Jocelyn turned that Red-head struck. She fell to the ground, seeing stars. He had hit her so fast that she hadn't even seen it, hadn't even felt it.

"You lost us the game!" He screamed.

"No," Jocelyn said grimly. "You lost us the game."

She probably would have gotten beat to hell right then and there if it weren't for the white-haired upperclassmen. He stepped forward and grabbed Red-head before he completely lost his mind.

"Tokin," he said. "Enough."

"She- she – but we lost!"

He just shook his head. Jocelyn pulled myself to her feet, glaring. Tokin, the red-head, had hit her in the eye, it was going to be black for sure. The other Shadowhunter was saved the responsibility of responding when Blackthorn walked into the clearing.

"Well, well, the famous four, impaled upon their own sword," he said. "Game not work out so well for you?"

Jocelyn melted back among the crowd of freshmen, grinning. Luke was standing to the side. Tokin answered bitterly.

"We're sorry, sir."

Blackthorn shook his head. "C average, and that's generous. Now get to classes."

The four upperclassmen hurried off and Blackthorn turned to address them instead.

"Now usually," he said. "We make the losing team sleep in the woods the first night – but it has recently come to my attention that this game may not necessarily been lost because of skill, but because of leadership. We don't like to punish others here for the mistakes of others, so you'll get your dorms tonight. The other team still gets to pick first though. Erm, is there a Jocelyn Fairchild here?"

Jocelyn had expected this. It probably went against Shadowhunter game to forfeit unwillingly or something. She raised her hand.

"Very well, the rest of you may go. Ms. Fairchild may I have a word?"

Luke shot her a worried look as the others began the walk back to the academy. _Go_, she mouthed, _I'll be fine._

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yes," Blackthorn said. "Is it true you forfeiting the game on purpose?"

"Yes."

"And you did so to get revenge on your leaders for their poor leadership."

There was no denying it.

"Yes."

A short pause.

"Very well, you may go."

Jocelyn looked at him, startled. That's all he had wanted to know? She wasn't going to be punished or something.

"In the future though Ms. Fairchild," Blackthorn advised, "I would avoid pissing off your fellow classmates, especially upperclassmen. I hate to say it but they do have more power than you. You might find your life a bit uncomfortable for a few weeks."

The message was clear. She wasn't going to be punished or reprimanded for what she had done, but she had to deal with whatever form of revenge the upperclassmen decided to exact upon her, and to deal with it without complaint.

"I understand, sir." She said, saying sir for the first time. She hated the using the word for those who she held no particular respect for, and that used to get her into trouble during her early school days. Blackthorn, she decided, had earned it.

He made it clear that she was dismissed and Jocelyn began the lonely walk back to the lawn. After such a hectic few hours, they were going to go do something as normal as picking dorms, unpacking, getting to know their neighbors. It was a strange environment.

"Hey fresh."

Jocelyn turned, regretting it as she did because she had inadvertently responded to be called a fresh. She had expected it to be Blackthorn, but it wasn't, it was the white-haired Shadowhunter from her team. She stared at him warily. Was the hazing going to start right now?

"No need to be scared," he said.

"I'm not scared."

"I wouldn't expect you to be," he said. Jocelyn took a step back. This upperclassman had an intensity that had not existed in the others, a sort of shrewd brilliance that she hadn't seen behind Tokin's eyes.

"I just wanted to ask you something."

Jocelyn quickly looked behind her, in case anyone was sneaking up behind her. When she was sure that no one was going to ambush her from behind to inclined her head.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"My father," Jocelyn replied wearily. "Why?"

The boy shrugged. "Just curious. Not many come into the Alicante Academy knowing how to do stuff like that."

"Did you?"

He shrugged again, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

"Maybe."

Jocelyn considered him. He didn't appear to be particularly angry at her for throwing the game.

"Be honest," Jocelyn said. "What are my chances of getting beaten up on the way to class tomorrow?"

The boy gave a true grin this time.

"Honestly? Pretty good."

Jocelyn had expected as much

"Aren't you mad because I threw the game?"

The boy laughed. That's when Jocelyn noticed his eyes were dark, darker than she had ever seen before, but not filled with unkindness.

"I would have been," he admitted, "had I not already had the leadership mark."

Jocelyn peered at his arms, trying to pick it out from among the patterns. She had never seen the shape before but she had a gift for reading the runes. She would know it when she saw it.

Sure enough, it was etched below the crook of his right elbow. A sort of swirl that encompassed a triangle.

"Well, that's all I wanted to know," the boy said, taking off towards the school. Jocelyn stopped, turned, considered.

"What's your name?" She called. The boy stopped, not looking back. Jocelyn noticed he was well-built, broad, but not so much so that he would lack speed.

"My name?"

Jocelyn remained silent, waiting. He turned around. She still waited. He hesitated, then, after a long pause, finally uttered his name into the air.

"My name is Valentine."

_**Let me know what you think everybody, make sure to follow and fav and please review! This is my first publish, so bear with me ;)_


	3. Chapter 3 - Food Fight

Luke met her at the door of the Alicante Academy, arms folded, look familiar. Jocelyn had to smile at it.

"You. Are. Unbelievable." Luke said, as she approached, splitting unbelievable into two separate words.

"You have to admit," Jocelyn replied, growing serious, "that those jerks didn't deserve a win."

Well, she thought a few seconds later, except perhaps the white-haired boy – Valentine – he hadn't seemed unintelligent, simply unenthusiastic.

"Of course they didn't," Luke said, pushing the door open. "They didn't deserve the chance even. But why do you always have to be so… brash?"

Jocelyn only heard the beginning of his words. Her attention had been captured halfway through by the halls of the Academy that had suddenly appeared. Huge marble walls and pillars adorned the wall, mixing white with black, specking the area with contrast. The floor was marble too, so that her boots echoed, and corridors split off all areas into who-knew-what. Abstractedly, Jocelyn wondered where the dorms were.

"Fairchild are you listening to me?"

They would have the farthest dorms she guessed, being not only freshmen but also the losers of the initiation game. And being last inside, her's would probably be the farthest, the dirtiest and the smallest. Jocelyn didn't think much on it. It was just a room. She was here for the classes.

"Fairchild. Hey, Jocelyn. _Jocelyn. _Hey look, a demon!"

Of course, she hoped that her classes wouldn't be restricted because of the loss. They didn't rate classes did they? Were there advanced courses that you had to get into it, or apply?

"I swear it's over there. It's eating someone's leg off."

If they did then she would have let the red-head Tokin, have his way and just have won the game. Her pride was important but classes trumped everything. She wanted to be the best and for that she needed –

"FAIRCHILD!"

"What." Jocelyn asked, finally snapping back to reality. Luke shook his head.

"I swear Joce, if you ever have kids one day you're never going to be able to talk them because their heads will be lost in space, just like yours."

"My head wasn't _lost._ It was just on leave."

Luke showed her to the freshmen dorm area. He had already been while she had been talking to Blackthorn. As she had expected the freshmen dorms were as far from everything as was possible while still being on the property. It was an entire separate wing of the building, three floors with fifteen rooms on each floor. A few would remain empty she guessed. The students were already getting their things set up and most had their doors open. Many gave her small smiles or winks as she walked by. One kid from the other team actually thanked her out loud. The other team had taken all of the rooms on the first floor and most of the rooms on the second floor. They had to go to the third floor to even find rooms and Luke stopped as soon as they stepped off the staircase.

"This is my room," he said, swinging the door open.

Jocelyn took a peek in. It was small, modest and bare, though not outdated or cheap as she had expected. There were three rooms, a bedroom, a bathroom, and a larger room that contained a single chair and a desk, as well as the kitchen, which was tiny.

"You can buy more furniture I've heard," Luke said. "I saw some seniors who had couches and recliners in their room, and even a TV."

"Where do they get the money?" Jocelyn asked.

"Tests, awards, winning, selling things. I think we get an allowance too, though from what I've heard it's pathetic."

Jocelyn was impressed. It was more than she had expected, though very minimal compared to her room back at the Fairchild Manor, which had its own bathroom, living room and attic. She had been able to practice her fighting in there without even getting close to the furniture.

They left Luke's room and continued down the hall, peering into rooms and trying doorknobs to find an empty one.

"I don't think there's any left," Jocelyn said, as they neared the end of the hall."

"Hold on, there's a corner around her."

They walked around, and at the end of the hall in a nearly hidden alcove, was the last room. Jocelyn swung the door open.

"Hello?" She called. No one was in her, this one was hers. She took the key off the hook which was by the door and slipped the chain it was attached to around her neck. On the key were the letters: 317, and the same appeared on the outside of the door.

"I guess this room is mine," she said.

"Um, Jocelyn?"

Luke gestured around the room. It was then that Jocelyn noticed that it was not like the other rooms. Luke's room had been bare, but compared to hers, it was well-furnished indeed. This room didn't even have a chair, the kitchen was missing the fridge, and the rug that had been in Luke's room was nonexistent.

"Looks like they never got around to finishing this room," Luke said softly. Jocelyn shrugged, trying to be indifferent. _It's just a room_, she reminded herself.

A voice suddenly crackled to life over the loud speakers, though it was difficult to hear in the room so they had to retreat out into the hall to hear instead.

"_All freshmen are required to attend orientation where they will register for classes_. _Please bring your room key for registration. Dinner will be served after._"

Luke said his goodbyes and left for his own room to prepare. Jocelyn re-entered her room and stared around it sadly. She had put this upon herself by losing on purpose, she decided, so she would live with the consequences. Thankfully the bathroom was finished. The windows were somewhat larger too, she was pleased to notice. The real surprise was when she walked into the bedroom, which was a separate room. The first thing she noticed (with a huge relief) was that there was a bed. The second thing she noticed was the view. Luke's room had had few windows, with most of them facing the Alicante Academy with little to see except grey brick. But hers… _hers _had a view of the entire city. Because her room was situated on the corner, floor to ceiling windows stretched along the entire east wall, showing two of the glass towers, the hub of the city and mountains, hills and forests off to the north. It was – there was no other word for it – stunning. The room was much larger than Luke's a well. But better than that – better even, than the view – was what was lying on the bed.

The _uniform. _Black boots, leather jackets and black jeans, padded heavily and etched with minimal but decorative silver. She breathed out heavily.

_Finally._

The next hour was spent reading and listening about class courses and registering. There were two main branches, with each sharing core classes but providing different capstones and specialties. Luke and her both signed up for the Hunter branch, which included cross-fit training three times a week, history of weaponry, hand-to-hand combat, close combat weapons, ranged weapons, stealth and glamour, as well as other's like agility, rune class and a mentored class.

"What's this mentored thing?" Jocelyn asked.

"That's a one-on-one thing," Luke answered. "They pair you with an upperclassmen for tutoring, getting settled in and adjusting, that sort of thing."

"Yeah, because the upperclassmen have just been so accommodating so far."

Jocelyn desperately prayed that her mentor would not be Tokin. Luke didn't say anything. Rather, he took her sign-up sheet and turned it in with the other's as the freshmen class made their to the cafeteria.

Dinner was a loud affair. The hundreds of students at the Alicante Academy all gathered in the one room to eat, talk and catch up on news. The freshmen stood out awkwardly, dressed out in their new armor. Luke had been right, the hazing started immediately. Mostly Juniors, the freshmen were shoved, teased and looked down upon right when they walked in the door. Those that were brave enough to try to get food from the buffet line were shoved out of the way by upperclassmen. As a result, most of them milled about the doorway watching warily for an opening like a rabid dog.

Jocelyn ached to go and get food herself, but she could see Tokin ad his friends milling about the line, daring the freshmen to come closer.

"Don't," Luke said.

"I wasn't going to."

"Sure you weren't. Just, wait okay?"

"Wait for what, us all to starve? Someone's got to put them in their place."

She wasn't going to take any of that crap. She was here for to learn to kill demons, and so far there had been very little demon-killing. She finally snapped when Tokin began to make very rude gestures to the freshmen.

"That's it," Jocelyn hissed. She was going to get beaten to hell tomorrow anyways, she might as well try and get some food out of it.

She stepped out from the back and began walking towards the line. Heads turned and whispered as she approached; no doubt the story of her forfeit have traveled among them. Without a single misstep, she marched right up to Tokin. It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

"Move." She said quietly.

To her pleasure, Tokin appeared disconcerted, though only for a second.

"Who's asking?" He spit.

"Me."

And then she punched him in the face. The only reason that she had even managed to hit him at all was because he hadn't been expecting it. The room exploded into motion. The upperclassmen leapt from their seats, half pulling her away, the other half pulling a cursing Tokin away. Freshmen added to the chaos, getting pushed, shoved and trampled. An entire fight broke out between two upperclassmen who each thought the other was a freshmen. The scene was just turning into what promised to be a good time when Blackthorn stormed into the room. Everyone dropped what they were doing immediately, whether it was pounding a freshmen's head into the salad bar or eating themselves, and stood. No one was making eye contact.

Blackthorn scanned the room, taking note of the scattered food, the bloody underclassmen and Jocelyn herself, who had remained untouched during the chaos.

"Clean this up." He said. And he walked out of the room.

There was silence for a glorious three seconds before someone started clapping, slowly at first, before more joined in, unsure though why they were joining in.

It was Valentine, the white-haired boy, who had remained sitting at his table throughout the entire scene.

"Well done," he whistled. "Well played, bravo!"

Jocelyn narrowed her eyes at him in confusion. Others were eying him with confusion as well, not sure who or what he was talking to or why. She shrugged the hands of the upperclassmen off her and broke away, glaring.

"Two massive fights started in one day and all you've got is a black eye. I mean," he said, grinning, "even for us, that's got to be some kind of record."


	4. Chapter 4 - Close Combat

**** Hey guys, I'm back! Sorry this update took so long, busy with school! Anyways, first off I apologize if some of the themes you read about in this chapter vary from those in 1-3, I took a long break and changed some things I haven't had time to go back and edit. Also please let me know what you think! ****

"How does it look?" Jocelyn asked, watching carefully as Luke peered around the corner. They had their first class of the day starting in five minutes, and were still trying to find it. This task would have been made much easier if not for the fact that they had to keep peering around every corner to check for Tokin or one of his minions.

"Hard to say," Luke replied. "There's too many people."

Jocelyn groaned. "Just go ahead," she said. "I'll take my chances."

Luke pulled her back around the corner before she could walk more than a step. "Do you want to get killed?" he asked. "Are you looking for _another_ fight?"

"Of course not," Jocelyn said.

Luke peeked around the corner again, his eyes searching wildly.

"You don't have to do this you know," Jocelyn said. "You don't have to help me."

Luke sighed once.

"Yeah Joce, I kinda do."

They made into their first class with a minute to spare. The teacher, a young, towering man was passing out materials along the desks which were already taken. Luke and Jocelyn took seats as far from the door as was possible, ducking around the window and settling in just as the bell rang.

"You're Fairchild, aren't you?" The teacher asked, as he came around to their desks. Jocelyn felt her cheeks growing hot.

"Yes, that's me." She said, brushing a loose strand of hair aside.

"I've heard a lot about you," he said, "don't disappoint." Then he set a knife down on her desk and walked away. She looked at it.

"You're screwed," Luke said.

"Everyone got knives," Jocelyn replied, gesturing around. "It's close-range combat, I would expect that we would get knives."

Luke shook his head.

"That's not what I'm talking about. I meant that if they're giving us - untrained and untested freshmen - knives on the first day of classes, what do you think Tokin has?"

Jocelyn's heart sank as she realized what he was talking about. Tokin, as an upperclassmen, probably not only had weapons - and better ones at that - but he probably had training with those weapons too, which meant that if - no - _when _he finally caught up at her, she would have a hard chance escaping with her life, not just her dignity. She didn't have long to dwell on this though, because the class was starting and Jocelyn soon found that she was having to pay close attention to catch everything that was going on. The teacher, whose name they soon found out was Mr. Trueblood, like the knife he was holding wasn't clue enough, was listing off safety rules faster than most of the students could follow. The only one that they heard loud and clear, and it was only because Trueblood repeated it three times, was that cutting another student while not in a training exercise would result in expulsion from the class. Jocelyn glanced down at her knife. It was as basic as they came, silver blade and black, leather handle. A close glance revealed dried, encrusted blood near the base. Somehow Jocelyn doubted that it was demon blood.

"We're going to cut each other?" Luke hissed, as the Trueblood swept out of the room somewhere.

"Now Luke, cutting is never a solution."

"That's not what I meant!" He said, turning over his blade. "Isn't this dangerous?"

Jocelyn just looked at him.

"More dangerous than is strictly necessary," he added. "We're not much use as soldiers dead."

"I'm sure there's some kind of safety procedure," Jocelyn said. "I've never heard of anyone dying in a training exercise at the Academy."

Although, now that she thought about it, that wasn't strictly true. News reached them sometimes of students who made mistakes during battle with the training demons, or on routine patrols of the borders, shadowing the real hunters. But dying during a training exercise? And dying during the basic, intro class? That she had never heard of.

"All I'm saying," Luke continued, as Trueblood reentered the room holding what looked like a box of street chalk under his arm, "Is that it's a bit risky to give untrained students knives."

"It's risky to be a shadowhunter," Jocelyn replied. "It's risky to live outside the walls. The job is full of risks Luke, it's an occupational hazard."

He never got the chance to reply, because Trueblood had approached the board and was a drawing a simplistic diagram of the knife. Jocelyn zoned out as he began to explain the parts of the knife. She wasn't an idiot, she understood how to use it. Point and stab. Pretty easy. After ten minutes of his lecturing, he finally told them to pack up their things; they were going to the training courtyard.

"First day and we get actual training," Jocelyn said, impressed. Luke just shook his head.

Their class of nine traveled downstairs and onto the massive lawn that was encircled within the Academy. It was large enough that the other class using the lawn, an advanced weaponry class - Jocelyn couldn't tell what exactly - was out of earshot.

"The knife is the most important weapon you will ever have the ability to use in close range combat," Trueblood shouted, as the students gathered around. "It is versatile, strong yet fast and durable yet cheap. Some would prefer the glory of a sword or an axe, but the knife will always be the weapon of choice to the experienced hands! Anyone can conceal a knife," he added, picking on out of his belt that they hadn't even noticed. "And from this point forward I expect all of you to do so as well, not with the training knives but with your own weapon. Never be caught without something sharp! Someone can have a lifetime of hand-to-hand combat under their belt and a trainee with a knife still has the upper hand. I want you all to split into partners and we're going to begin going through some simple moves. These knives can't cut through bone or tissue but they can draw blood so be careful when you're moving around with them!"

The class began to split into pairs while Trueblood demonstrated with his own knife, how to hold it in the most useful position.

"Because we want you to learn how to fight demons not other people," Trueblood explained, after they had all split up, "we're not going to focus much on mechanics but rather weapon diversity. You'll learn how to use your hands, knives, swords, maces, axes and other basic weapons in this class. After you find an affinity to a particular weapon, you're welcome to take specialized courses with that weapon, but for now, we're just getting you ready, understand?"

A few mumbles.

"_Understand?_" Trueblood shouted.

"Yes, sir!"

"Good, now one partner in each group raise a hand - this person is going to be the attacker. The other partner is to attempt to keep the other partners knife away from them at all costs, disarming them if possible. Go!"

Luke had been the one to raise his hand so he was attacking. Jocelyn, who admittedly had never trained with a knife, assumed a basic stance and raised her own knife. Luke took a step forward, his face so furrowed with concentration that Jocelyn almost laughed. He jabbed once and Jocelyn flitted away just out of reach. Her father had told her to always dodge a blow when possible; she guessed that the same would apply to combat with weapons.

He jabbed again, and Jocelyn retreated again. He slashed downwards once, and she caught his arm with her free hand, twisting it and letting the knife clatter to the ground.

"Game over." She said.

"I didn't know we were allow to do that," Luke said, retrieving his knife. He was blushing.

"Do what?"

"Use our other hand, fight with our hands too."

Jocelyn laughed. "No rules Luke, just fight. It's a game."

He advanced again, this time jabbing and slashing faster. The longer she let Luke last, Jocelyn noticed, the more dangerous he became with the knife. The trick she found was to disarm him as soon as possible, to avoid letting him build up heat or recklessness. After fifteen minutes of the madness, in which she had avoided any injury though her shirt had been ripped partially at the elbow, Trueblood whistled, calling for them to switch.

"Ready for this?" Jocelyn whispered.

Luke's face hardened. Just as he was about to respond, she lunged forward. Luke just managed to get out of the way, but not quickly enough, as Jocelyn just pushed him over with her shoulder as he was off balance.

"What the hell was that?" He demanded, picking himself off the ground.

"Me kicking your ass."

"You can't do that! We're practicing with knives not hand-to-hand combat!"

Jocelyn didn't see the difference. Sure the knife was a huge advantage, but they had another hand free, why not use it? Why just restrain themselves to fighting with the knife when they could combine the two and become a double threat?

"You're supposed to be fighting, not talking," Trueblood said, walking past their group.

"Sir," Luke asked, "we're supposed to use the knife right?"

"That is correct."

Luke looked pointedly at Jocelyn.

"I _am_ using the knife," Jocelyn exclaimed. "I don't have to cut you with it, do I? I just have to use it."

"Cutting with it is using it!"

Jocelyn couldn't believe Luke was being so narrow-minded, he was usually pretty adaptable.

"You don't _just _have to cut with it," Jocelyn said. "It's more useful than that, I used it in a way that is just less conventional!"

"You didn't use it against me, you pushed me to the ground!"

"But you wouldn't have been able to push on the ground at all if you hadn't been trying to dodge _my _knife."

Luke was saved answering by Trueblood.

"You only have five minutes left," he interrupted. "Perhaps Graymark, you ought to try going on the offensive again."

"Fine," Luke said. Jocelyn straightened. So Luke wanted a fight? She would give him a fight. "I dare you to come at me," she said.

Luke snarled. He lunged forward, copying Jocelyn's same move. Jocelyn however, was ready, and she pushed him over as he whooshed past instead. Luke rolled to the ground and popped up. He then proceeded to jab, slash and stab as fast as could. For all his efforts though, he still couldn't touch her. She used not only her knife but the rest of her body as a defense. His arm was coming, instead of blocking or dodging it she stopped it, then yanked the knife out of his hand and flung him onto the ground.

"See!" Luke said, getting up from the ground once again, gasping for air. "She's not - using - the knife."

"You're still fighting Graymark, just because she took your knife doesn't mean you've been defeated." Trueblood said.

Then just as Jocelyn was turning to acknowledge Trueblood's words, Luke struck. He dived out of the air and tackled her head on. Both fighters went down, the knives clattering to the ground. Jocelyn's air was knocked out of her. She flung Luke off and they scrambled for the knives, for some kind of advantage.

"Get out of it Luke!"

"Go to hell!"

They each managed to grab a knife. Jocelyn was faster and she managed to cut Luke above the knee, drawing blood and causing him to flinch. The exchanged several blows. Jocelyn landed another hit, on the forearm this time, but Luke blocked her next strike and did something that neither of them had thought to do previously: he threw his knife. The knife nicked Jocelyn's shoulder and she resisted a gasp as the pain dug into her shoulder with cold fingers. But Luke had missed anything important, and Jocelyn strided forward as the anger roared up inside of her. She batted aside his attempts at defense and grabbed his shirt.

"Jocelyn!" Luke cried. "Jocelyn, stop!"

She ignored him, barely heard him. Jocelyn rose her knife - to harm or scare, she did not know - and brought the blade down with all the anger that she possessed, fueling her speed and ferocity with all that had happened over the past few days, thinking of Tokin and his ugly face, Luke's warnings and how right he had been - how stupid she had been to make enemies her first day - how Luke had understood the game - the real game, the game of the system - before Jocelyn had even realized that there was one...

Even as her hand neared his neck she saw the perfection in her strike, in it's direction and power, the way her fingers clasped around the handle unflinchingly. Her father had taught her well, but as she glanced up at Luke's face she saw his eyes, saw how he watched the blade with helplessness and with naivety, she saw something that caused her to see out of her haze for a millisecond. That flaw was enough time for her arm to flinch, so tiny, no one but a master of combat would have even noticed but it was enough time. Her hand was stopped in it's path, jarring her shoulder and causing the blade to rest an inch from Luke's collarbone, quivering and suddenly seeming ablaze, like it glowed with some kind of depraved light. It was Trueblood.

"Enough," he said. Her hand crumpled under his strength and the blade clattered to the floor, still shining with wet blood. Luke was breathing heavily, staring at her, holding his arm where he had been cut earlier. The entire class had fallen silent. Jocelyn stared at her hand, flecked with blood and shaking. Luke's blood, she realized, and the gravity of what she had almost done hit her.

"I wouldn't - Luke you know - you know I wouldn't have..."

He didn't answer, just turned away and limped over to pick up his thrown weapon. Trueblood released her wrist.

"Luke!" Jocelyn called. "Luke, look at me!"

He wouldn't. Not even the rest of the class would. They wore the same stunned face that Luke had five seconds ago.

"Luke! I'm _sorry_! I made a mistake. I thought - "

"You thought _what_ Fairchild?" Luke shouted, flipping around. "What were you thinking? That we weren't handling sharp weapons? You think that you can apologize for almost _killing_ me?"

"Luke, I wouldn't have -"

"Don't!" Luke shouted, cutting her off again. "Don't pretend that you would have stopped." His voice cracked. "This isn't a game Fairchild, you can't win and you can't start over! You wouldn't have stopped and you know it."

Jocelyn opened her mouth. She wanted to say something, how she was sorry, how she knew it wasn't a game and that she wouldn't be able to live without Luke. She wanted to say how she would have hated herself for the rest of her life if she had hurt him like that. But the words wouldn't come. Nothing would.

The bell rang. Luke gave her one last look - one that made Jocelyn's chest grow cold at his disgust, before he began walking off. Jocelyn didn't try to call him back. She just watched as he limped away and the rest of the class began to chatter and pack up as students from other classes began to pour into the open hallways.

"You probably want to get that shoulder looked at," Trueblood said. Jocelyn didn't answer. She was still staring at the doorway that Luke had exited a few seconds ago.

"Jocelyn?"

She flinched as Trueblood called her her first name, snapping back into existence.

"I - I have to go," she said, picking up the knife and handing it to him. "Sorry for the trouble."

Then she grabbed her bag and sped towards the door, in some kind of shock. Her hands were still shaking. She had almost killed today - and not just anyone she had almost killed her best friend. What was happening to her? That was three fights in the two days she had been here, at this rate she wouldn't make it to semester. Luke had been right. Again.

This wasn't a game.

**** CH 5 coming tomorrow! Follow, favorite and please, please, please review guys! I love hearing from you! ****


	5. Chapter 5 - Beaten

**** Hey guys! I actually wrote this chapter several weeks ago but I was out of country for a while without an internet connection (it was awful) so I couldn't post it! Chapters should come more regularly now that my schedule is filled up. Also! I may have overstepped some boundaries in this chapter and some of you may not be happy about it - I apologize in advance :/ However I've begun to take over the characters a little. I realize that it is not typically Jocelyn's nature to act this way and that none of this is every referenced in the books. No worries! She'll overcome it. Just relax :3 ****

Jocelyn pushed her way through the crowd hallways. Where had Luke gone? They had nearly identical schedules, she couldn't miss him, could she? Surely he wouldn't skip class just because... well she had nearly killed him - perhaps it _was_ warranted… Jocelyn stumbled into her next class well before the bell, and was disappointed to see that Luke wasn't there after all. It was the history of Shadowhunter's, a class she had been told was skipped more often than all the other classes in the school combined.

Jocelyn took a seat near the back, wincing when she sat down. Her shoulder was bleeding. She retrieved some paper towels and returned to the classroom to find that it had filled, and Luke was there.

"Luke," she hissed, sitting down behind him as the other seats around him were already taken.

"Would you please listen to me for one second?"

Luke pretended he hadn't heard. He was twirling his pencil in one hand, staring straight ahead.

"Look," Jocelyn continued anyways, lowering her voice as the class began. "I'm sorry about what I did and I know saying sorry won't fix it. I get that. But can you at least tell me that you're mad at me?"

Jocelyn waited. She could deal with an angry Luke. Hell, she could even deal with a Luke out for vengeance, but a silent Luke? She couldn't handle that.

Still, he wouldn't acknowledge her voice.

"Please Luke?"

Silence.

Heart sinking, Jocelyn leaned back into her seat. She spent the rest of class in a daze, staring at the back of Luke's motionless head. She was still staring at it when the bell rang an hour and a half later and she was able to watch Luke limp out of the room without looking at her once. She exited the room, still lost in some kind of trance. She couldn't believe Luke was ignoring her. She wasn't even worthy of his anger, it was like she hadn't ever existed at all. After all they had been through, this was what was going to drive them apart? They were like brother and sister for God's sake!

Jocelyn didn't snap back to reality until she noticed the hallways were quiet. She glanced around for a clock and cursed when she realized she was late. And lost too, Jocelyn admitted, after taking a look around. Maybe she had taken a wrong turn. She backtracked as fast as she dared, looking for something familiar. She was just beginning to feel relieved because she knew where she was when she turned a corner and saw something that made her heart leap and fingers tingle with adrenaline. Tokin and his gang. Running away from a conflict wasn't usually her style, but even she wasn't stupid enough to walk straight into a pack of four angry adolescents. She turned away as quietly as she could and had almost made the corner when she heard Tokin call out to her.

"Hey bitch!"

Jocelyn's jaw clenched with anger but she refused to turn around and respond to the name.

"Hey fresh, I'm talking to you!"

Footsteps could be heard approaching rapidly behind her. She wouldn't run, that was beneath her, but she wasn't against throwing the first punch if a fight was going to break out anyways.

"You gonna talk to me bi -"

THWACK.

Jocelyn flung around and punched Tokin in the jaw before he could finish his sentence. Her blow was hard enough to cause him to fly sideways into the nearby wall.

"You wanna finish that sentence, Tok Tok?"

Not her best line but at least it was something.

"What did you call me?" Tokin hissed, his friends pulling him to his feet.

"Tok Tok. Although now that I think about it I like Tik Tok better, how does that sound to you?"

Tokin straightened, his face twisting with fury.

"I would take that back right now," he said softly, "while you still have the chance."

Jocelyn didn't say anything. Tokin drew a knife from his boot. Jocelyn glanced at it and knew she was beat before the fight had even begun. What had Trueblood said? Carry a knife with you everywhere you go? Oops. Tokin's knife didn't look old either. It was long, sharp and gleaming with malice.

Still, Jocelyn refused to answer. She would end her own life before she allowed an enemy to humiliate her.

"Have it your way," Tokin said.

In the end it was the shoulder that screwed her. She managed to fight off Tokin and his three followers for half a minute before she tried to raise her arm and it didn't quite perform up to expectations. The beating was brutal, but nothing less than Jocelyn had expected. Blackthorn had made it clear that this would happen. Tokin and his friends were merciless, and experts at beating a person to the edge of consciousness without causing them to pass out. When they finally left her alone, a mere four minutes after she had turned the corner, Jocelyn was struggling to draw a breath. Whether her ribs were broken, bruised or the air had simply been knocked out of her, she did not know - she had been hit too hard on the head to figure it out properly. What was it, third period? Fourth period? The day was barely half over - lunch hadn't even started - but she couldn't go on to fourth - not like this - curled up into a ball to try and alleviate the pain. Jocelyn was still lying like that when the bell rang and third period began pouring into the hall. It was at that point when she forced herself to her feet and began hobbling off - not to fourth period - but to her dorm instead. She was in such bad shape that she didn't make it to her bed until fourth period was nearly over. The three flights of stairs and long hallways had taken a toll.

She collapsed onto the mattress without bothering to take her clothes off, but almost immediately she forced herself off so as not to stain the sheets with the blood she was sure was there. Instead she sat down on the bare floor to stare out the window.

Her first day. It was her first day and already she had almost killed her best friend, been beaten within a few inches of death and managed to miss more classes than she had attended. Had she put this on herself by throwing the initiation game? Was this normal? She didn't know.

Jocelyn sat there for rest of the day, watching the life bustle in and out of the glass city, watching people go about their lives, wondering whether Luke would ever forgive her. She skipped lunch. Dinner too. She didn't want to have to walk into the cafeteria in her state and have people whispering behind her back.

_"Do you see that girl over there? The one with the red hair? The one all by herself? Wonder what happened to _her_."_

No, no she would quite like to avoid that. It was only once the sun had fallen that she pushed herself to her feet to clean up and change.

The results ended up not being as bad as she though they would be. She had only two knife wounds: a long scratch on the stomach and the one on the shoulder from Luke. Everything else, so far as she could tell, was simply badly bruised. Her face and ribs had taken the worst of it. She probably had a matching black eye to the one Tokin had given her only a day ago, a mild concussion perhaps. Her ribs were badly bruised all over but that was easy to hide so she wouldn't have to think about it. The cut on her stomach was long but shallow, merely a surface wound. The gash on her shoulder, the one from Luke, ended up being the worst wound. It was deep enough to have hit some tendons, though not so severe that she thought she wouldn't make it through the night. A healing rune would fix it in no time... If she knew someone with a stele that was. It looked like she would just have to wrap it up and hope for the best.

By the time Jocelyn had showered and lowered herself into bed it was already ten o'clock, long past the time she had wanted to get to bed by. She only had two classes tomorrow, a large teamwork class that their entire grade shared, and then the individual mentor class, which she wasn't sure what to expect from. Branch classes only resumed every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with core classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Electives, internships and other activities could be taken on the weekend though they were optional and many preferred to relax in their dorms instead.

Tomorrow would be different, Jocelyn promised, pummeling her pillow into a better shape. Tomorrow she would make amends, be smarter and more in control, a better student - a better friend. Tomorrow would be different. She knew it would be.

Except, the next day wasn't different at all. Jocelyn woke to the alarm at six sharp. She pushed herself out of bed, sore everywhere except her eyes and pulled on her Shadowhunter's armor and weaponry. Despite her early rising she was pushing it for time by the time she got to Core Class 1. All forty something students were in attendance on the south lawn, and she just managed to slip into the back. She caught Luke's eye before taking her place against the wall. His eyes widened slightly when he saw her face which she was sure was bruised and looked like hell, but he didn't move. For a second he even opened his mouth, like he was going to say something, then closed it a second later and Jocelyn's brief hope that things would be back to normal was shattered. The class went on. Lunch was no different. Jocelyn stayed only to grab an apple before retreating out of the stares of her fellow classmates into the hallways where she could find a secluded place to eat and nurse her wounds. The period after lunch was individual tutoring and mentoring. They didn't actually get to be mentored directly following lunch. Their mentors hadn't been selected yet. They were given slips of paper to write down what they were having trouble with at the Academy and what they could use to help them better adjust. Jocelyn could only stare at her paper while other students scribbled furiously. What could she say, that she wasn't enjoying having to watch her back every minute in the hallway, that she needed help apologizing to her best friend for nearly killing him? That she wished she had just won the initiation game rather than forfeit for the sake of her pride? In the end she just turned in her slip blank. As long as she wasn't paired with Tokin she didn't care who she got. Jocelyn returned to her dorm that night thinking that tomorrow, things would be different. They just _had_ to be.

None of them were.

Jocelyn would wake at six o'clock sharp every morning. She would eat a quick breakfast in her room, then take off to first period, which was either close combat or core depending on the day. Although Luke was in many of her classes, they didn't speak. When group work was required, she would pair with someone else. During close combat Trueblood sparred with her with various weapons. He pushed her relentlessly, but she didn't mind. She didn't have time to dwell on Luke's silence during that class, she could simply focus on the swish of the blade and the clash of the metal. Saturdays and Sundays were spent alone, training and preparing for class the next week. She would often take jogs throughout the forest, or work on homework in her dorm staring out over the glass city. Whatever she was doing, she tried not to think about how unhappy she was, despite the fact that she was doing what she loved. Tokin found her a least once a day, sometimes twice. He knew her schedule now to the dot, and would pop up throughout the day to remind her she wasn't safe. Sometimes the meetings were purely verbal, most were not. Tokin knew better than to hit her on the face. Any injuries he inflicted were on the ribs or places covered by her armor. Though she still walked around like a soldier back from war, she no longer looked the part. Her previous wounds had healed with the exception of Luke's cut on her shoulder. Thanks to Tokin's regular visits it had been unable to heal properly and was now turning a nasty yellow color. Jocelyn could take the pain in the arm, but she couldn't take the fact that it was starting to affect her performance. It barely perceptible, but her left arm simply wasn't able to flex or move as fast as it used to.

Three weeks passed like this and though Jocelyn was at the top of her classes and qualifying for more advanced courses she felt like she had learned nothing. She had seen Luke hanging out with another group the other day where she had made a skittish venture into the cafeteria to secure some food. At first she had been angry, then surprised when she realized it was the same group that had led their class through the initiation exercise. None of Tokin's followers but that one white haired guy, what was his name? Oh that was right, Valentine. She immediately decided she didn't like him.

It was early one Wednesday morning when Jocelyn first cracked - when she first allowed the tiniest sliver of weakness and pain from her suffering break through her outside appearance. It was during first period. Trueblood was running them through short swords. It was nearly the same as knives though one could get a lot more power in a single strike from the weight change of the blade. Tokin had found Jocelyn three times the day before, and she was moving even slower than usual.

"Come on, Fairchild," Trueblood said after disarming her for the fourth time. "You've made the same mistake every time now, keep your arms in."

"Sorry, sir," Jocelyn replied, picking her weapon up from the ground. She was exhausted. Tokin had twisted her left arm painfully and she was unable to sleep on it the night before.

He proceeded to disarm her the exact same way ten seconds later. Jocelyn saw her mistake that time but had been unable to correct herself in time to prevent the damage. Her arms just wouldn't move fast enough.

"What happened to you?" Trueblood asked, as the class was ending and they were storing their weapons.

"Sorry, sir?"

"I can't figure it out."

Jocelyn was silent.

"The first day here you were the fastest, most aggressive student I had seen in - well a long time. You learned faster than even my star student in the upper classes, I thought I had a legend on my hands - But every class you get less and less... eager." He said at last. "What happened?"

Jocelyn was silent for several seconds. Tokin's name floated to her lips but she steeled herself at the last second. She was many things, but a snitch was not one of them, and though she had not been herself the past month, she was not about to allow other people to solve her problems. Blackthorn had been clear about her punishment as a direct result of her actions during the initiation game. She wasn't about to complain and rat n Tokin. She hadn't fallen that low... Yet.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Sir." She said.

"Take off your jacket."

"Sir?"

"Your jacket Fairchild, take it off." Snapped Trueblood.

Jocelyn shrugged off the leather overcoat worn by the Shadowhunter's. She was wearing the typical Shadowhunter armor underneath – nothing more than a shirt with hardened, black leather sewn in to protect the vital organs. Trueblood carefully rolled up the sleeve on her left arm. Jocelyn just closed her eyes and grimaced. She ought to have been prepared for this. Trueblood must have noticed her favoring the arm during sparring, dammit Jocelyn! She cursed her arm into oblivion. She almost cursed Luke too, but stopped herself at the last second. This wasn't his fault.

"I told you to get this wound looked at," Trueblood said, several seconds later. It was beginning to ooze liquid and Jocelyn could barely look at it. It wasn't the fluid that was disgusting her, it was the fact that this shallow cut was affecting her in any way.

"With all due respect Sir, you recommended it."

Trueblood didn't even glance up. Instead he removed a stele from his pocket and drew the healing rune below the wound. Jocelyn clenched as the wound stung but then relaxed as the pain faded away. She could feel some of her other bruises beginning to fade as well.

"What's this from?" Trueblood asked, rotating her shoulder and viewing the large bruise on her tricep. Jocelyn couldn't remember, but she was sure it was from Tokin.

"Tripped."

"And you landed on your triceps?"

"I hit the railing on the stairway," Jocelyn said quickly. "Tried to stop myself from falling further."

Trueblood gave her a careful look. Jocelyn tried not to make eye contact.

"Very well. Dismissed Fairchild."

Jocelyn nodded and left the room quickly, before her composure could crumple. Despite the interrogation, Jocelyn was soaring at an all-time high thanks to the healing rune by the time the last bell rang. She made it all the way through the day without any sight of Tokin. Maybe today would be the day that she broke free of him! If only she had more training then, she thought, she could beat him! But he had too many followers. No, better to hide and build strength then engage in direct confrontation. Jocelyn flew back to her room.

_Yes!_ She thought triumphantly, shutting her door and locking it. _I made it through the whole day without any sight of him!_

The success gave her hope. But before she could do more but let a faint smile show through, she heard a voice behind her.

"Come on now Fairchild, you didn't think it would be that easy."

Jocelyn's hand dropped from the doorknob.

"Tokin," she said, through a clenched jaw.

"Maybe they should change your name to Fairbaby," Tokin said. Jocelyn could hear him walking around behind her, but she didn't turn around. "Always running away, it fits, don't you think?"

Still she wouldn't give him an answer. Tokin chuckled.

"That's rude," he said quietly, "isn't it boy's?" Mutters of affirmation. So there was more than one. She wondered what her chances were. Not good, that was for sure. Absently she wondered why they had broken into her dorm to beat her when they could have done it outside or in the halls. A cold worm of fear began to furrow into her stomach.

Jocelyn dropped her book bag beside the door and began to stretch. She would fight, like she always did. Sometimes she landed a hit. Sometimes two. Never three.

She put up a fight as always. The guy on the left lost a few teeth before she was taken down by sheer numbers. All she could do was what she always did, curl into a ball and try to protect the vitals. She took a minute of a brutal beating before it subsided. This time though, Tokin didn't seem satisfied.

"You've been a real pain in my ass, Fairchild," he said, stepping back. Jocelyn wasn't fooled into uncurling. "Always taking different routes, putting up a fight, you would think a month of good, classic punishment would whip a normal person into shape wouldn't it? Worked for the others, so why are you such a tough nut to crack Fairchild?" He leaned closer. "Is it drugs?" He whispered. He straightened up and Jocelyn's anger flared as she realized she wasn't the first one Tokin had done this to. Who knew how many freshmen he had beaten into his command before her? Hell, the people beating her right now could have been victims too!

"It's time to teach you a lesson Fairchild," Tokin said. "If you ever breathe a word of what's about to happen here, I'll kill you, do you understand? I'll find you, no matter where I am and make sure that I end your pathetic, weak, sad, little life. And while I'm at it, I'll probably have to take care of that other boy too, what's his name? Luther? Ah well," he said, grinning, "guess it doesn't matter. It's the little guy with glasses isn't it?"

"Shut up," Jocelyn hissed. She had never been so angry in her life. Blood was pooling in her mouth where she had bitten her cheek and she was having trouble focusing her vision she was so mad.

"What did you say to me?"

"I said," Jocelyn whispered, uncurling and pushing herself to her feet, "Shut… the hell… up…"

Tokin's face contorted. "You need to be taught a lesson once and for all," Tokin said. He motioned to his friends. "Hold her."

"I'm going to kill you, Tokin!" Jocelyn screamed as she was overwhelmed and pinned down by Tokin's friends.

"After what I'm about to do to you I don't think you'll be able to do much of anything for a while," Tokin replied. His hand drifted to his belt, but not towards a weapon.

Jocelyn screamed and struggled but it was all in vain, she was no match for four much stronger, much bigger, much heavier boys. If only she had had more time, more training! She could have protected herself! All she could do was spit on the face of the student to her right.

"You're going to hell, Tokin!" Jocelyn screamed.

"Maybe," he said. "But if I am I might as well enjoy myself first."

Tokin laughed as he crouched down - Jocelyn was kicking and flailing fruitlessly - she had nearly given up all hope when a knock sounded on the door.

One of Tokin's friends looked up in alarm. The knock came again.

"Fairchild?" A voice asked. She didn't recognize it. Tokin stood, motioning for his friends to remain quiet. Jocelyn opened her mouth. Rescue was less than five feet away, all she had to do was make a noise, any noise. Tokins friends had retreated in fear now. The knock came a third time.

"Fairchild I know you're in there, I heard voices."

Jocelyn opened her mouth wider. She could do it, she could be saved right now. Tokin would be punished, expelled probably, his friends too. All her problems could evaporate if she only could make one sound! But she couldn't do it. All her life she had avoided asking for help. She had fought to prove herself, to take care of herself, to be able to function and succeed entirely alone. She never asked for help. Never. She had never done it before and she couldn't do it now. Silently, Jocelyn closed her mouth.

Don't you dare cry! She told herself. You do not cry. You do not show weakness. You are strong. You are a Shadowhunter.

The voice didn't come again. The five of them remained frozen for a full ten minutes, Tokin and his friends on one side of the room, her on the other. The seconds ticked by.

"Let's go," one of Tokins friends whispered. Tokin nodded and they snuck out in mere seconds, slipping out of the door and down the hall, out of sight. Hadn't even looked at her.

"Jocelyn?" A voice asked, outside her door. She still didn't recognize it. "This is Jocelyn Fairchilds room, right?"

Jocelyn moved closer to the door.

"Yes!" She said at last, steeling her voice. She would not be found weak. She was not a normal girl.

"Can I come in?" The voice said.

Jocelyn frowned. She was bleeding and bruised she was sure, her voice was going hoarse from all the yelling.

"Who is it?" She asked, leaning up against the door.

"It's your individual mentor," the voice called again, and suddenly Jocelyn recognized it. "It's me - Valentine."

**** Thanks for reading guys! Make sure you fav, review and follow! More chapters coming soon! As always, I love hearing from you guys as this is my first fanfic and I'm curious as to what I'm do right/wrong. So leave a comment! :3 ****


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